Oakton too much for Harper

Nathan Gomez (0-2) made his second start of the season for Harper College on Thursday afternoon.

Thanks to visiting Oakton Community College, he'll be eager to get the chance to start over.

The Hawks were no match for the Raiders, who left Palatine with an 18-3 win in 7 innings in nonconference play.

The Hawks (3-6, 0-2) had 6 hits.

Harper shortstop Daniel Lauria (Rolling Meadows) had no trouble against Raiders pitching. He went 2-for-3 with 2 solo home runs. The first came in the second inning with the Hawks down 1-0.

"You hit what is thrown to you," Lauria said of the home runs he hit, both on fastballs.

It stayed tied until the top of the third inning, when Oakton (15-5) exploded for 8 runs. Gomez didn't make it out of the inning.

"We walked too many people," said first-year Harper coach Cliff Brown.

The Harper bullpen fared no better as William Brown (Hersey) came in to relieve Garza. But Oakton had added another 7 runs in the fourth inning.

The Raiders offense was led by Ryan Tuntland (Maine West), who went 3-for-5 with 3 RBI and two extra-base hits. Tuntland is hitting .470.

Tim Scanlan (Prospect) went 4-for-4 with two extra-base hits and 5 RBI; he is hitting .286.

"We are playing pretty good baseball," said Oakton baseball Bill Fratto. Joe Gajda (2-2) pinched 5 innings for the win.

Tom O'Shea (Hersey) hit an inside-the-park homer for Harper's final run in the bottom of the seventh.